JP2010536508A - Ergonometric training equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a measuring unit i.e. arm formed on a chain, to measure driving force applied by a manually or foot operated drive, or torque force associated with the drive. A measuring arrangement measures movement position i.e. angular position, of the drive. The arrangement has sensor units e.g. magnetic field sensors, arranged in mutually opposed positions with respect to a wheel connected to the drive in a movement synchronous manner. The mutually opposed positions correspond to a movement position of load change between alternately operated drive elements (16) i.e. foot operated pedals.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ergometric, exercise device fixing member having a manually actuated drive (by hand or foot) with two actuated drive members, the drive connected to a flywheel by a gear mechanism And a measuring unit for measuring the driving force applied to the driving unit or a torsional force (torque) related to the driving force, and for measuring the position of movement of the driving unit, in particular the angular position. Connected to the measuring device. The drive member is preferably a pedal similar to that of a bicycle, but it can also be of a different kind, for example a stepping platform called a so-called steer master.

  A member of this type of training device is described in Patent Document 1. The moment is measured with a resistive strain gauge. A resistive strain gauge is attached to a loaded component of the pedal configuration to measure parameters such as moment, work, power, angular velocity, time per revolution. In this way, the measurement of the total moment and the measurement of the moment with the left and right pedals (left and right foot respectively) can be performed, from which the performed work and output can be calculated.

  U.S. Patent No. 6,057,031 discloses an electronic exercise machine with a monitor for physical activity having a sensor and a display device, which records and displays body data during a first period. The exercise device has a resistance generator, such as an eddy current brake, and controls for controlling the operation of the exercise device using data displayed about body slip.

  U.S. Patent No. 6,057,031 discloses an exercise machine in which a seat and a spring biased rotating shaft are attached to an elongated frame. The rotating shaft is connected to the flywheel and has a resistance device. Disclosed as resistance devices are, for example, centrifugal brakes, windmills, open work flyholes, and eddy current brake wheels, in which the windmill is integrated.

  Further, exercise apparatuses are described in Patent Document 4, Patent Document 5, Patent Document 6, and Patent Document 7.

  The measurement of moments on a bicycle chain is described in US Pat. A tension sensing device is arranged in the upper chain section for measuring elasticity, i.e. the gear wheel touches the chain on the outside and a resistance strain gauge measures the force exerted on the gear wheel by the chain.

  U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,089 discloses a method and apparatus for applying a preload force to an endless drive member, particularly a chain. The gripping portion is pressed against the chain from the outside by a chain tension device with a predetermined force. The preload force of the chain so generated is set via sensor electronics for sensor data or other standard parameters via the control electronics.

  U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,051 discloses an apparatus for measuring mechanical work and power, which is transmitted to a drive member between two drive wheels. The force measuring member provided with the roller is pressed by the spring force against the driving member, and is used to measure the tension in which the degree of movement is shifted. Individual embodiments include inner or outer roller contact, or at least a combination of one roller on the inside and one roller on the outside.

  Further, a measuring device for measuring the driving moment of the driving system, for example a bicycle, is disclosed in US Pat.

  Patent Document 13 discloses a pedal exercise apparatus in which two pedal arms, that is, a resistance strain gauge of each pedal arm is used to measure a separation force, and an evaluation path of a motion can be evaluated as, for example, a polar diagram through an angle transmitter. Indicates. Patent Document 14 additionally suggests placing a resistive strain gauge diagonally on the pedal arm in question.

  Further proposals for measuring the force of the pedal movement are described in US Pat.

US Pat. No. 5,027,303 European Patent No. 0925596 US Pat. No. 5,354,251 US Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0004439 US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0117680 US Pat. No. 5,611,759 US Pat. No. 5,749,807 JP 05-201374 A German Patent Application Publication No. 19919154 U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,245 US Pat. No. 4,909,086 US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/099735 German Patent Application No. 42227586 German Patent Application No. 4435174 US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0149364 US Pat. No. 5,573,481 International Publication No. 02/47551 Pamphlet European Patent Application No. 1362552

  These known exercise and measurement devices are intended to measure the force or torque consumed by human training in various ways. Nevertheless, they are often time consuming and complex. The known method is particularly time consuming if one wishes to differentiate between the different sections of the process, i.e. the disassembly between two legs (or two hands on a hand-operated device).

  It is an object of the present invention to create an exercise device in which the measurement of applied force or torsional force is divided into left / right occurring movements.

  This object is achieved on the basis of an exercise device of the kind nominated at the outset, the measuring device for measuring the position in motion according to the invention in a position facing each other with respect to the wheel connected to the drive. It has a set of sensor devices that are arranged to move in synchronism with it, the positions corresponding respectively to the positions during the movement of the load change between the two drive members.

  This solution allows detection of load alternation between the left and right limbs in a simple manner, and allows such discrimination between forces applied between them, and in some cases, their work. To. Furthermore, it allows a simplification of the measurement process and a reliable evaluation of the data in which the force is recorded as a function of the foot position or rather the angle of rotation. When the wheel is a gear wheel attached to the pedal shaft in a rotationally fixed manner, for example, or a transformation that can have an appropriate conclusion about the angle of the wheel at the position of operation of the drive As long as it can be connected to the pedal shaft via a gear mechanism.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a particularly effective implementation of the approach based on the present invention is depicted, wherein the two sensor devices are configured as sensor parts mounted on the wheel in opposite positions. Furthermore, the at least one sensor device is arranged in a fixed position, which makes it possible to detect the passage of the sensor part through a specific angular position of the wheel, the angular position being a load between the two drive members Corresponds to the position during the shift movement.

  However, if the two sensor devices are configured as sensors and are provided with at least one additional sensor part mounted on the wheel, the at least one sensor part located opposite to each other is near a certain angular position of the wheel It can be detected by the sensor by passing through and each angular position is suitable if it corresponds to the position during the load change operation between the two drive members.

  For effective non-contact detection of moving parts, it is advantageous if the sensor part is a magnet, in particular a permanent magnet, and the sensor is a magnetic field sensor.

  Additionally, in order to achieve a simplification of the measuring device used to measure the applied force, a measuring unit for measuring the driving force is attached to the friction mechanism, in particular the chain, of the gear mechanism. It is advantageous if the arm is provided. The measuring unit has a measuring sensor for slightly pressing the side of the friction mechanism and measuring the tensile force exerted by the friction mechanism.

  The evaluation system receives the signal from the measurement unit regarding the applied driving force or the associated torsional force, and is based on the time evolution of the driving force or torsional force and the signal transmitted by the measuring device. Can be advantageously provided for calculating the variables derived from the measured quantities and for indicating them continuously. The evaluation device can further receive a signal from the measuring device regarding the number of load changes, and alternately assign the calculated variable to the right or left limb of human training depending on the load change reported by the measuring device. be able to. Therefore, the output of the variable calculated in this way can be assigned to the right or left limb and executed based on the signal of the measuring device regarding the number of load changes. Through this further development, uncomplicated measurements and automated outputs assigned to the left / right are successful.

  Furthermore, it is desirable that the speed dependent resistance that the person being trained must overcome with the exercise device according to the present invention is as close as possible to natural, i.e. corresponds to resistance on a bicycle on the road. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the flywheel has a device that slows down by air resistance and is connected to an electromagnetically acting brake. The device that slows down due to air resistance can be a paddle wheel that is connected to the flywheel in a rotationally fixed manner. Furthermore, the paddle wheel can have many blades arranged parallel to the axis of rotation.

  In order to be able to set an additional air resistance effect if necessary, the device slowed down by air resistance has a means for setting the amount of airflow moved by the movement of the flywheel. It is advantageous if it is arranged in the position. For example, the housing can have an opening, its dimensions and air permeability can be set, thereby setting the airflow through the housing.

  The invention will now be described in more detail on the basis of non-limiting embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view (from the right front) of a training device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is the figure which inclined further the training apparatus. It is a left side view of a training device. It is detail drawing (right side view without a housing) of the gear mechanism of a training apparatus. FIG. 5 is a detail view of FIG. 4 showing force measurement of the gear mechanism chain. It is sectional drawing of the wheel drum of a training apparatus. It is a figure which shows the training apparatus provided with the open magnetic brake. FIG. 8 is a detail view on the left of the area of the pedal arrangement with the housing partially removed so that the sensor for measuring pedal position is visible, leaving the support bar and axle box of FIG. FIG. 8 is a detail view on the left of the area of the pedal arrangement with the housing partially removed so that the sensor for measuring pedal position is visible, leaving the support bar and axle box of FIG. 2 is a block diagram of signal and data evaluation. It is a figure of the handle of the training apparatus provided with the display. It is a figure (polar form) which shows the driving force according to the angle of rotation.

  Embodiments described below with respect to a fixed ergometric bicycle training device are shown in FIGS. 1-3 in various views. The training device 10 can be used as a training device, for example as a home exercise machine, for use in fitness studios or in elite sports or in the medical field.

  The training device 10 has a bicycle-like rack frame 11 provided with a seat 12 and a handle 13, and their respective positions can be set, but are fixed during a training cycle. A housing 14 is disposed in the leg region. The front region of the housing 14 has a set of wheel guards 15 and pedals 16. The pedal 16 is attached to the pedal shaft 17 by a known method, and is connected to a resistance mechanism via a gear mechanism. The gear mechanism is housed in a wheel guard 15 described below.

  Referring to FIG. 4, in the illustrated embodiment, the gear mechanism 40 is a combination of two friction drives, ie a gear drive with a belt drive, through which the movement of the pedal 16 to the flywheel 18 High transmission is achieved. The pedal 16 is firmly coupled to the gear wheel 19 via the pedal shaft 17, and the gear wheel 19 drives the pinion wheel 42 via the chain 41. The pinion wheel 42 is instead coupled to a disc wheel 43 which drives the flywheel 18 via a belt 45 extended by an auxiliary wheel 44.

  The illustrated embodiment comprises a measurement system that measures with an accuracy of 2% or better. It serves to measure the force and pedal speed applied by the user and is connected to a computer system for displaying and evaluating the measured data.

[Measurement of force]
As shown in FIG. 5, the measurement unit 50 advantageously comprises a first friction drive for measuring the force exerted by the person being trained on the chain 41 via the pedal drive. It has been. The pedal length is fixed and known, the driving force to the working torque (moment of force, “torsional force”) and vice versa is calculated directly and is equivalent in this respect.

  The measuring unit is advantageously implemented as a beam with the measuring extension strip bent, and measures the recovery force with some bending of the chain. The arm 51 attached to the frame 11 supports the glide 52 at its end. The glide 52 is made of plastic, for example. The glide is applied to the chain 41, for example, inward, similar to a chain stretcher, pushing the chain slightly outward. If the chain is under tension as a result of the force applied by the person training, then the tangential component of the force is exerted on the plastic glide, and a restoring force proportional to the chain tension acts on the glide, causing it to twist. helpful. The resulting elastic bending of the arm 51 is measured by a measuring sensor, for example an extension measuring strip 53. The measurement sensor signal is electrically evaluated as described further below.

  To calibrate the force measurement, a weight of known size is attached to one of the pedals 16, and the bend is mechanically on the flywheel 18 or flywheel disc 27 (FIG. 7), for example, a block agent (shown). Is not blocked). The force measured in this situation serves as a basis for the calibration of the force measurement system by comparing it with the known force applied by the weight.

[Resistance mechanism]
Referring to FIG. 6, the flywheel 18 driven by pedal movement via the gear mechanism 60 has an air paddle wheel 21 mounted on the flywheel blade in a rotatably fixed manner. The air paddle wheel 21 is located in its own container, such as part of the wheel guard 15.

  As can be seen in FIG. 7, in the embodiment shown, the eddy current brake 20 is arranged on the same axis as the flywheel 18, preferably opposite it. The eddy current brake 20 is, for example, a magnetic brake, in which a metal flywheel disk 27 cooperates with a (permanent) magnet 28 which can be adjusted in a known manner, or alternatively with a brake of other electromagnetic action. It can also be implemented. In the embodiment shown, a magnet is placed on the steel bracket along the peripheral portion of the disk 27 and is directed towards the disk 27 with the aid of a placement mechanism 29 or away. The disk 27 is made of steel, for example, it is covered with a copper ring. In order to be able to completely block the rotation, two holes 27 are provided in the disc, for example, in which the block pins (not shown) held in the housing or on the frame are lateral. Can be introduced from

  The resistance mechanism of the training device according to the invention reproduces what happens during a cycling trip. The resistance acting during cycling is (a) air resistance, (b) friction of mechanical parts in the bicycle and (c) rolling resistance between the tire and the road surface or the slope of the region. In general, air resistance accounts for an overwhelming proportion, often more than 90% of total resistance, and increases secondarily with speed. Thus, the generated output increases cubically with speed. Bicycle friction and rolling resistance increases linearly with speed, which corresponds to an output having a second order speed dependence.

  In the training device 10, a combined braking system is used to mimic these two types of resistance. It has two brake subsystems, namely the brake mechanism of the brake 20 acting via an air brake in the form of a wheel 21 and acting electromagnetically, as already described. Thus, realistic modeling of the resistance ratio of a bicycle has succeeded in giving a feeling of moving a “normal” bicycle. The two subsystems can be set up independently of each other. They also have no influence on the measuring device described below. The combination of the two brake subsystems allows a wide range of resistance caused by the pedaling frequency. No external energy source is required.

Referring once again to FIG. 6, the air paddle wheel 21 has an essentially cylindrical annular shape. Along the periphery, a number of paddle blades 25 are arranged at a normal distance between the two lateral retainer rings 24, each of which is arranged parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel 21. And at an angle other than 90 ° with respect to the radial direction. As the wheel 21 rotates, the blade 25 then moves the ambient air inward. In this way, air is sucked in through the side windows 15b and expelled again via the opening 15a (FIG. 2) found on the lower front side of the wheel guard 15, so that the wheel 21 is slowed down by the resulting air circulation. To come.

  Compared to a training device with a known air brake, the resistance of the device shown is the adjustment of the air intake on the stator side (FIG. 3), ie more or less closure of the opening 15a by means of the flap 22. And / or by setting the side window 15b for its air permeability, for example, in the manner of a Venetian blind. In this method, the braking effect derived from the air resistance can be set within a wide range. In particular, by closing the opening 15a and the window 15b, the resistance can be brought to a minimum close to zero so that only mechanical friction remains essentially in the system.

  The resistance for the two respective brake subsystems can be set by these methods. In the embodiment shown, a resistance effect of 0 to 5000 W can be selected.

[Measuring pedal speed]
8 and 9, a sensor device 30 for measuring pedal speed is depicted. Two magnetic field sensors 31, for example, reed switches, are fixedly disposed adjacent to the pedal gear wheel 19. The two permanent magnets 32 are arranged on the gear wheel 19 at exactly opposite positions. Thereby, during the rotation of the gear wheel 19, each magnet 32 passes through each of the sensors 31 once and generates, for example, a signal impulse. The signal thus generated is passed on to evaluation, allowing the pedal speed to be accurately measured via the number of revolutions per minute and the crank length.

  Both sensors 31 and magnets 32 belonging to them correspond to each other in pairs and are arranged at different radial distances from their axes (the possibility that one sensor on each side is activated by the magnet of the other sensor) To avoid). The magnets are arranged with respect to their angular position to the sensors belonging to each of them relative to the arrangement of the pedals 16, whether force is changed from left to right pedal or vice versa, in each case from sensor 31. Next, the signal impulse is given. As can be seen from FIGS. 8 and 9, in the 0 ° arrangement shown (the right pedal is vertically upward), one magnet is exactly in the position of the sensor assigned to it, while the other magnet is It is placed exactly opposite the sensor assigned to it. This allows measurement allocation and separation of left and right legs, as well as the right / left evaluation of the force and power applied by each leg, as well as the comparison (balance) of the two foot outputs To.

  The placement of the sensor magnet pairs causes them to be placed for detection of possible load changes and establishes the beginning of the measurement cycle. A measurement cycle usually consists of a series of discontinuous measurement points. The pedal sequence of the sensor position—and thus at load change—is selected as the beginning of the measurement sequence. This makes it possible on the one hand to capture load shifts at the measuring point (which is expected to be the least force applied, especially for immature cyclists), and on the other hand, the measurement sequence is continuous between successive sensor cycles. Measured at a substantially constant rate. This is because the angular velocity of the pedal movement is empirically substantially constant compared to the speed during individual step cycles, which can often vary after a load change. This can simplify the measurement process and further improve the reliability of the evaluation of the recorded data with respect to the foot position, in particular the force as a function of the angle of rotation.

[Evaluation]
As shown in FIG. 10, the sensor signal transmitted by the force measurement sensor (elongation measurement strip) 53 and the sensor 31 arranged in the pedal measurement is amplified, digitized by an analog-to-digital converter, and the handle ( The electronic evaluation provided in FIG. 11) is carried, for example, to a training display 33 and / or an assigned computer system 34. In the computer system 34, the signal is converted into a driving force applied to the pedal during a time dependent process, for example at a data rate of 100 data points per second. Further, the signal can be displayed and / or stored in real time. The data can then be recalled and edited later. The display of the data can be advantageously performed in a manner relating to pedal rotation and / or with a polar display as shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the measured pedal force F _p (N; the outer circumference corresponds to 250 N) as a function of the angle of rotation in polar display over the full rotation of the pedal. The angle shown directly corresponds to the angle of the pedal moved in the clockwise direction, 0 ° corresponds to the vertical upper position of the right pedal. In a particularly sportsmen and sportswomen trained, between the two legs caused a synergistic effect, if it is adjusted collaborative capability is better for people who are in training, more a diagram of the curve F _p It is also worth mentioning that it will be rounded.

In the computer system 40, analysis of the measured data and drawing display by suitable ergometric software is implemented on the screen, for example:
• Calculation and display of pedal moments • Force as a function of foot position • Number of revolutions per minute • Speed (calculated at conceptual bicycle speed)
・ Output (W)
・ Average output ・ Energy (kJ, by integration)
・ Balance of left and right foot (%)
-Heart rate (via an additional sensor belt worn by the user)
・ Statistical analysis

  Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but rather extends to all embodiments within the scope of the claims. In particular, the exercise device according to the invention can have other drive members of the pedal, for example a step platform on a steer master or a set of handgrips operated alternately. Here, the movement is mechanically converted into a rotational movement of the drive wheel via a gear mechanism in a known manner.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Training apparatus 11 Frame 12 Seat 13 Handle 14 Housing 15 Wheel guard 15a Opening 15b Window 16 Pedal 17 Pedal shaft 18 Flywheel 19 Gear wheel 20 Eddy current brake 21 Wheel 22 Flap 24 Retainer ring 25 Paddle blade 27 Flywheel disk 28 Magnet 29 Arrangement Mechanism 30 Sensor Device 31 Magnetic Field Sensor 32 Magnet 33 Display 34 Computer System 40 Gear Mechanism 41 Chain 42 Pinion Wheel 43 Disc Wheel 44 Auxiliary Wheel 45 Belt 51 Arm 52 Glide 53 Extension Measurement Strip

Claims (13)

  A fixed ergometric exercise device comprising two alternately operated drive members (16), preferably a hand or foot operated drive with a foot drive pedal, wherein the drive is A measuring unit (50) connected to the wheel (18) and for measuring at least one of the driving force applied via the drive and the torque associated therewith, as well as the position of the movement of the drive, in particular the angle A measuring device (30) for measuring the position, wherein the measuring device (30) for measuring the position of movement has a set of sensor devices (31, 32), which moves the device with it. In order to synchronize, the wheel (19) connected to the drive unit is disposed at a position opposite to each other, and the position corresponds to the load change movement between the two drive members (16). Exercise apparatus characterized by corresponding respectively to the kick position.   The two sensor devices are configured as a sensor part (32) attached to a wheel (30) arranged in an opposite position, and at least one sensor (31) is arranged in a fixed position, whereby the sensor part Can be detected through a specific angular position of the wheel, the angular position corresponding to the position of the load-shifting movement between the two drive members (16). The exercise device described in 1.   Two sensor devices are arranged as sensors (31) arranged in a fixed position and are provided with at least one sensor part (32) attached to the wheel (19), by means of which at least one sensor part is provided. It is arranged opposite to each other and can detect that it has passed by a specific angular position of the wheel, each angular position corresponding to the position of the load shift movement between the two drive members (16) The exercise apparatus according to claim 1.   The exercise device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the sensor unit is a magnet (32), and the sensor (31) is a magnetic field sensor.   The measuring unit (50) for measuring the driving force is an arm added to the friction mechanism of the gear mechanism, in particular the chain, which slightly presses the side of the friction mechanism and is exerted by the friction mechanism. The exercise device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a measurement sensor (53) for measuring a tensile force.   The evaluation device (40, 41) is configured to receive a signal from the measurement unit (50) relating to the applied driving force or torsional force related thereto, and the temporal evolution of the driving force or the related torsional force The exercise device according to claim 1, characterized in that the variable derived therefrom is calculated and continuously output based on the signal transmitted by the measurement unit (50).   The evaluation device (40, 41) receives the measurement device (30) signal relating to the number of load changes, and is transmitted by the measurement device (50) according to the load change reported by the measurement device (30). The exercise device according to claim 6, wherein the exercise device is configured by alternately assigning a variable calculated based on a signal to a right or left limb of a training human.   The output of the variable thus calculated is executed on the basis of the signal of the measuring device (30) relating to the number of load shifts to the right or left limb, respectively. Exercise equipment.   The exercise device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flywheel (18) comprises a brake device acting by air resistance and is connected to an electromagnetically actuated brake (20).   Brake device acting by air resistance is arranged in a housing with means (15a, 15b) for adjusting the amount of airflow moved as a result of the movement of the flywheel (18). Item 14. The exercise device according to Item 9.   11. The housing according to claim 10, characterized in that the housing has openings (15a, 15b) whose dimensions and / or its air permeability can be changed and by which the air flow through the housing is adjustable. The exercise device described.   The exercise device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the brake device acting by air resistance is a paddle wheel (21) connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the flywheel. .   The exercise device according to claim 12, wherein the paddle wheel (21) comprises a plurality of paddle blades arranged parallel to the axis of rotation.

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